Source: Liverpool_Echo
Everton FC 0 Newcastle United 1: Greg O’Keeffe sees the Blues fail to call the Toon
IT WAS difficult to see what was more damaged at Goodison on Saturday.[LNB]The air of invincibility which had developed about the Old Lady, courtesy of a 14-game unbeaten run or Everton's aspirations of achieving something special this season.[LNB]There is only so long you can chalk off stuttering performances like this as early season sluggishness, always on the cusp of being replaced with a successful surge.[LNB]That might be the pattern Everton's recent seasons have fallen into, but this campaign was supposed to start a new format.[LNB] This time around was supposed to be about consistency from the start. A strong opening, supplemented by a good cup run, and a real chance of doing something when the points start to matter most after Christmas.[LNB]Instead we've witnessed the poorest start to a season since Mike Walker's disastrous cameo in Everton history.[LNB]True, Everton have been far superior and yet unrewarded in two of the five games which have passed without victory.[LNB]But against promoted Newcastle United they got what they deserved, precisely nothing.[LNB]The faithful had prayed for that dramatic comeback against Manchester United to act as a watershed. It should have been.[LNB]But perhaps that last-gasp draw over Alex Ferguson's team papered over lingering cracks.[LNB]A bright opening half hour, coupled with those pulsating last few minutes do not amount to a convincing overall picture.[LNB]And Newcastle were determined from the offset to prevent Everton from enjoying the space to pass that the Red Devils occasionally gifted them.
